THE CENTURIONS

by Jean Larteguy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3, 1961

The defeat in Indo-China and the fall of Dien Bien Phu failed to drive home to the French politicians, general staff and civilians in the far-off capital, the fact that the policies were outworn, that the old army operations were useless against a ruthless Comunist enemy and a guerrilla war. But to the paratroop officers and non-coms taken prisoner, being exposed to the grim reality of brain washing, torture, starvation and forced marches through the jungles, there was born a whole new philosophy. In prison camp they dreamed of home; when they were released and returned to France, they found themselves outsiders, charged with having taken on the ""yellow taint"", betrayed, misunderstood, lonely. Inevitably they sought out each other; differences in education and social status meant less than their sharp divergence from the society they had once belonged to. The links of shared experience were what mattered. ""Peace"" was unreal; they thought they hated the army -- but they went back to it -- and to Algeria and the chance to train others sent out there to be paratroopers in the Indo-China tradition. What they had not bargained for was that something had changed in them -- the methods used against them by their captors seemed inevitably the methods they in turn adopted to use against the Algerian enemy. It is a fascinating study done in terms of the group that had suffered together. Each one emerges as sharply defined. It is a bitter indictment of a system. It has its moments of horror, depravity, violence. It has too its moments of perverted humor, of sensitivity, of poignancy. It might be defined as a French The Naked and the Dead written with finesse and sensitivity and taste that the Mailer book lacked, but revealing in many ways a similar pattern as the soldier attempts to fit back into civilian life. This book has been a great success in Europe. It should find distinguished acceptance here.

Pub Date: Jan. 3, 1961

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1961

Categories: FICTION